Xavier President Serves Pancakes to Open King Celebration

December 16, 2009

Xavier University’s commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. from January 18-22 will incorporate the principle of servant leadership. The term, coined by Robert Greenleaf, says, “The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” Jesus himself urged his followers to be servants and modeled the philosophy by washing their feet. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a modern servant leader, putting the welfare of followers ahead of his. He marched with his followers and was jailed personally, rather than directing others to those ends. King knew the best leader strives to be the kind of person the leader would follow. Servant leadership is about trust and believing in the value of others. More information: www.Xavier.edu/mlk